The Diary of Y
by IfTimeWasStill
Summary: One girl, one talking Froakie, one journey. Follow Yvonne de Lilycove as she explores the land of Kalos, hounded by quite possibly the most annoying set of companions she could have asked for. Professor Sycamore may have wanted her to complete the Pokedex, but the quest for some decent food is far more pressing.
1. Chapter 1

**The Diary of Y**

**Chapter 1**

My name is Serena Forrest and I am more or less an adult now. Except I look like a prepubescent teen due to a pair of shamefully small breasts and the fact I still live at home. Well, that used to be the case anyway. Thanks to my mother, the famous Rhyhorn Racer Grace, that is no longer the situation. She caught my father cheating on her. During her next race, she pretended to lose control of her Rhyhorn, veered off the course and trampled him to death. A court case soon followed. Everyone knew she was guilty but she had saved up enough prize money to bribe the jury to clear her name. Due to the public backlash, she was forced to retire from Rhyhorn Racing and what was left of our family was relocated to Vaniville Town in Kalos under new identities.

And so, my name is Yvonne de Lilycove. Unfortunately, I didn't get to choose my own name so I'm stuck with this ridiculous thing. To be more interesting and mysterious, I have decided that everyone shall call me Y. I'm still not used to it. On the journey to Kalos, I thought my mother had degenerated into a toddler, repeatedly asking "why?" to everything until I realised she was trying to get my attention.

My first day in Kalos started late morning. I was in bed fast asleep and enjoying a nice lie in to recover from the long day moving house. My blissful rest was brought to an abrupt end by a sharp and sudden pain in my chest. My eyes shot open and the first thing I saw was the face of pure evil. My mother's pet Fletchling. The tiny orange bird caused nothing but despair for me. It was a brutal alarm clock, messenger of doom and all round general annoyance. I am ticklish and feathers make me sneeze easily and this damn bird knew it.

I flailed my arms in the air above my bed to swat the Fletchling away. It fluttered about, depositing a feather as it did so, and flew out of my room down the stairs. The feather gracefully floated down towards me and the inevitable happened. I sneezed. With the grace, dignity and destructive force of a Magikarp, I thrashed about and threw my sheets across the room as the sneeze forced me up. All my energy was used in that one burst and I slowly dragged myself out of bed. I trudged across the wooden floor and stared in the mirror. I looked like a tramp. A very girly tramp. I plucked the first few buttons of my pyjama top to reveal a large purple bruise squarely in the centre of my chest. Another for the collection.

"Morning, Y," my mother said cheerily as I made my way downstairs.

I grunted something that sounded vaguely like "morning" and stared at her. I waited expectantly for some sort of explanation as to why I has been summoned by the Fletchling. We stood awkwardly in silence for a moment and I glanced to the side to see Fletchling perched on the sofa watching the new flat screen TV.

"You look a mess," my mother said sternly, "Go back upstairs and get dressed."

Without another word, I returned to my room to get dressed. I wasn't particularly fond of the outfit I wore, but it was the only one that I could find that covered all of the bruises from being bombarded by Peck attacks. I went back downstairs to find my mother waiting for me again. She stood with her arms folded and examined my appearance. Her look changed slightly to suggest I was now of satisfactory appearance.

"Alright, now go and meet the neighbours," she said.

"What?" I asked.

"It's the polite thing to do. Go and make some friends, you sociopath," she said.

"Don't I even get breakfast?" I pleaded.

"No," she replied.

I sighed and opened the front door.

I stepped out into the sunlight to find two people waiting for me. A tall boy and a young girl stood on the garden path and waved to me.

"Hey, I'm Calem. I live next door. And this is Shauna," the boy introduced himself.

"Hi!" the girl, Shauna, screeched. I raised my hands towards my ears to protect them in case she decided to continue speaking. Fortunately, she didn't.

"Uh, hi," I said reluctantly, "I'm Y."

"Nice to meet you Y," Calem said, "the world renowned Professor Sycamore wants to give five kids from Kalos a Pokémon. Including you."

"I… what?" I looked confused at him.

"Yeah, I know you only just moved here but he somehow knows about you and wants you to have a Pokémon. That Sycamore works in mysterious ways," Calem explained.

"I'm not exactly a kid anymore," I said.

"Sure you are!" Shauna said in her high-pitched screech.

"No, they're just really… small," I protested somewhat reluctantly.

"Come on, we're going to get a Pokémon. We'll meet you in the next town," Calem said.

He and Shauna immediate turned and left. I watched as they walked along the road and out of the town through a gate in the wall. I was left stood on the doorstep feeling incredibly awkward about the whole situation. I considered turning around and going back into the house to say that I'd met the neighbours and that I was done with them. However, they had offered me a Pokémon. This was a tempting prospect. A Pokémon of my own that I could use to fight off that damn Fletchling. What did I have to lose?

I stepped forward and noticed my mother's Rhyhorn snoozing on the lawn. Despite the fact we were supposed to be hiding to protect ourselves, my mother had kept her infamous Rhyhorn and was displaying it for all to see in our front garden. I was told never to disturb it, but given the way I was treated, I didn't care much for this rule. I picked up the hose from the grass and made my way over to the garden gate. I prepared myself to run and aimed for the Rhyhorn's face. I squeezed the handle and water sprayed out. I immediately dropped the hose and ran.

I heard a loud roar followed by a crash as I dashed down the road towards the town's exit. I pushed open the large wooden gate and was met by a short dirt road covered in the shade of surrounding trees. I walked down the road and appreciated the beauty of where I now lived before I reached the next town. A nearby sign welcomed me to Aquacorde Town.

"Hey! Over here!" a familiar girl's voice screeched.

I turned to see Shauna waving at me from a table outside a café. She was sat with Calem and two other boys.

"Hey Y, we were just talking about you," Calem said as I walked over to join the group.

"It's rude to talk about people behind their backs," I said and sat down next to him.

"Don't worry, we didn't say anything bad about you," Calem said reassuringly.

"Hey, she does have small breasts. Just like you guys said," the larger of the other boys said.

Calem slammed his face against the table. I clenched a fist and gritted my teeth. It would also be rude to beat someone to a pulp on first meeting them and I wanted to be above them so restrained myself. Calem slowly sat up again and composed himself.

"Y, this is Tierno. He really knows how to tear up the dance floor," Calem said and gestured towards the larger boy.

The first thing obvious about Tierno was his size. He was massive and barely managed to sit on his chair. The next thing was his Vanillite t-shirt. I suspected he was quite the fan of ice cream and I made a mental note of pledging to protect all Vanillite from him in whatever way I could. I then wondered about what Calem had said. Tierno danced? Surely dancing was exercise, how did he manage it and not lose some weight?

"Hey," Tierno said, "and this is Trevor. He's a bit shy but he always gets top marks on his tests."

I looked to the final boy. He was incredibly small, though I couldn't tell if that was just because he was sat next to Tierno or not, and had lots of ginger hair. He was staring at me across the table.

"G-girl," Trevor stuttered.

"Hi Trevor," I said and smiled. I leant forward across the table and pushed out my chest towards him so that he got a better view of what breasts I had. Trevor's face instantly turned red and sweat poured down his face. I then sat back in my chair and laughed. The others laughed too and Trevor sunk into his chair in embarrassment.

"Now that Y is our friend, we should give her a nickname. How about Lady Y?" Tierno suggested.

"No way!" Shauna cried out, "She should be Li'l Y!"

"Are you guys serious?" I asked.

"What do you think Trevs?" Tierno asked.

"U-uh, h-how about Y-kins?" Trevor said.

"I'm up for calling her any of those. Which would you prefer Y?" Calem asked. I looked at him for a moment as the group looked at me expectantly; each of them seemed to be hoping I chose their suggestion.

"Please, just call me Y," I said.

"That's a great idea, it really suits you," Calem said and the others nodded in agreement.

"Can we have our Pokémon now?" Shauna asked.

"Yeah," Tierno said as he reached under the table, "this is a big moment guys, it was great when me and Trevs met ours."

Tierno produced a small canister from a bag and placed it on the table in front of us. It opened up to reveal three red and white balls resting inside.

"Y, you should pick first," Calem said.

Tierno moved the canister towards me for me to pick one. I looked at the balls. They were all the same. I had no idea what they contained. A trainer's first Pokémon was a big life decision and here I was about to make mine on pure chance. I reached out and grabbed a ball at random.

"I choose you," I said, quoting the people I'd seen getting their first Pokémon on TV.

I pressed the button and a red light burst from the Poké Ball. The light flashed to reveal my choice, a small blue frog-like creature, Froakie. I let out a squeal of delight. It was perfect.

"I will call him Mr Squishy and he will be my Mr Squishy," I picked up the Froakie in my arms and hugged it tight. I then held it out to get a good look at it.

"For your information, my name is Sir Squishalot," Froakie said in a posh sounding voice.

"No, I am your trainer and I say you're called Mr Squishy," I said. After a moment, it dawned on me what had just happened. "Wait… You can talk?"

"Very perceptive, human," Mr Squishy replied.

"Woah!" The rest of the group collectively gasped.

"How can you talk?" I asked. The idea of a Pokémon capable of communicating with humans like this was unheard of outside of fiction.

"That, my feminine friend, is a matter for another time," Mr Squishy said.

"Hey Li'l Fennekin!" Shauna screeched. A small yellow fox on the table emitted a similar screeching noise.

"Hi Chespin, I'm Calem. We're going to be best friends from now on," Calem said to his new Pokémon.

"Oh, I h-have something else for you," Trevor said and reached into his pocket, "it should help you on your journeys."

He placed three small red devices onto the table. I took one and examined it. It was a Pokédex.

"There's one more thing," Tierno said. He handed me an unmarked envelope and I looked at it.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Professor Sycamore asked for this to be delivered to your mom," he explained.

"My mom?" I asked as though what he had said was a foreign language, "You mean my mother?"

"Yeah, so you should go give that to her," Tierno said.

"Very well," I said and stood up, "Come along Mr Squishy."

"As you wish ma'am," Mr Squishy said and launched himself off the table.

The chance to go home was a relief. I wasn't too keen on hanging around with these people for much longer. Something seemed off about them. Home no longer seemed so bad now that I had a Pokémon. I made my way back towards Vaniville Town with my new partner. However, we didn't make it very far before a high-pitched voice that I dreaded hearing filled the air.

"Y, wait!" Shauna called out.

"What is it?" I asked trying not to sound too irritated.

"Let's battle!"

Shauna threw her Poké Ball and her Fennekin emerged. I wasn't that interesting in battling her just yet and didn't think this was the time or place for it either. However, Mr Squishy stepped forward to face the Fennekin. It seemed I had no choice in the matter.

"Li'l Fennekin, Ember!" Shauna ordered and her Pokémon coughed out a small flame that hit Mr Squishy. Mr Squishy was largely unaffected by it.

"Mr Squishy, use Bubble," I called for the first attack that came to mind and Mr Squishy squirted Fennekin with a small spray of bubbles. Each bubble popped on impact and dealt a significant blow to the Fire type.

After all I'd seen of Pokémon battles on TV, this was not how I expected it to be. Exchanging Ember and Bubble attacks was pitiful compared to Steven's Metagross driving Cynthia's Garchomp into the ground. I called for a repeat of the previous attack and like that the battle was over. Shauna threw her hands down at her sides and scowled at me.

"Wow, you're good," she said before running off with her wounded Pokémon.

I exchanged a glance with Mr Squishy and we turned to continue on our way home. It was a short walk back down Vaniville Pathway and we soon entered the town. I led Mr Squishy into our garden. There were cracks in the wall surrounding the garden and chunk was missing from the tree. Rhyhorn was laying on the lawn again and eyed me suspiciously as I passed.

"I'm back," I said as I opened the door.

My mother was waiting for me in the hallway. Her glance lay expectantly on the doormat so I wiped my feet. She then looked from me to Mr Squishy.

"Mother, this is Mr Squishy. He's my new Pokémon," I said.

"A pleasure, Mother of Y," Mr Squishy said and held out a hand to offer a handshake.

"It… can talk?" my mother looked down at Mr Squishy, "and so polite. My my, what did you get up to?"

"Some Professor Sycamore sent me and some of the neighbours Pokémon and a Pokédex each. He also sent a letter for you," I explained and handed her the letter.

"Well, I don't know about any Professor Sycamore, so…" my mother said and snatched the letter from my outstretched hand. She took a moment to read over it. "Oh my, what lovely handwriting… Hmmm. Oh, oh my," she said and blushed, "Well, it seems that you're a fully-fledged Pokémon trainer now. You're ready to leave home. I've been prepared for this day for years."

"You have?" I asked out of surprise.

My mother walked over to a cupboard and opened it. From a box that hadn't been unpacked yet she pulled out a shoulder bag and handed it to me. I didn't know how to react as she forced the bag's strap into my hand and moved my arms for me to put it over my shoulder.

"Run along now, go have lots of exciting adventures with your new friends and say hi to the Professor for me," my mother said hurriedly and pushed me back out the front door.

"Wait, what's going on? What did the letter say?" I asked.

I got no response.

I stumbled out onto the doorstep again. A moment later, Mr Squishy was thrown at me. He landed on my hat and gripped tight. The door slammed shut behind us.

"How delightfully rude your mother is," Mr Squishy said, "She did not even accept my handshake."

"I've been wanting to leave for years, I just never expected it'd be anything like that," I said.

"Well, nothing to do about it now but as she says. Onwards to adventure!" Mr Squishy declared.

"Are you going to get off my head?" I asked.

"In our short acquaintance I have grown rather fond of your hat. I shall be remaining here for the foreseeable future," Mr Squishy responded.

"If you insist, but remember that I'm your trainer so you're going to have to do as I say," I said.

"My dear Y, you will come to learn that it is actually the reverse that is true," Mr Squishy said. This earned him a smack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I made my way back to Aquacorde Town. Mr Squishy the Froakie clung to my hat and weighed me down as I made the short journey. When I arrived, my attention turned to the café I had been sat at with that group of people I might have to suffer the misfortune of calling friends. Fortunately, they were nowhere to be found so I had some peace save for my new talking Pokémon. I had not eaten breakfast due to being forced out of the house so soon after getting up. I hoped the café might be able to provide me with something. However, there appeared to be an issue. I couldn't find a door inside. There were a large number of tables outside but no obvious entrance and there was no sign of anyone to ask.

"Human, we appear to be meandering aimlessly," Mr Squishy said, "Please obtain some direction or I will be forced to take action."

"I'm looking for a way into this café. I need breakfast," I said.

"There is a human of the servant variety behind us, I suggest you enquire with her," Mr Squishy said.

I turned around and spotted a waitress clearing a table on the far side of the seating area. I approached her and she stopped working to look at me.

"Excuse me," I began.

"Hey, do you like Pokémon?" she asked.

"Uh, I guess," I replied hesitantly.

"Great! I love Pokémon," she beamed.

"Sorry, how do you get into the café?" I asked. "I'd like to order some food."

"Hey, do you like Pokémon?" she repeated.

"What? You already…" I tried to speak but the confusion from the woman's behaviour overcame me.

"Back away from the human, Y," Mr Squishy suggested.

"A talking Pokémon!" the waitress screamed.

The waitress dropped the tray in her hand and ran off. I was left alone with Mr Squishy to come to terms with what exactly had just happened. I looked down at the tray to see a now shattered mug and a plate lying on the floor. To my despair, there was nothing but a few measly crumbs on the plate.

"Never mind then, there's got to be somewhere in this town that sells food," I sighed and headed down the steps to the rest of the town.

The town was small. Just a few buildings surrounded a fountain. Beyond that was a bridge over a river towards a forest. There appeared to be three shops in the few buildings and I approached the first hoping they would sell something. Inside was quiet a pleasant setting but it was not obvious what was on sale there. A couple of people appeared to be browsing but what exactly they were looking at was unclear. I walked over to the counter and spoke to the clerk.

"Excuse me, what do you sell here?" I asked.

"We are a specialist shop that does the finest Poké Balls," the man said proudly.

It wasn't what I was looking for but if I was going on some sort of adventure then I would probably need some balls for catching Pokémon. I reached into my bag and found my mother had sent me off with plenty of money. I picked out a few notes and placed them on the counter.

"However many this will cover then, please," I said.

The man quickly took the money, pulled five Poké Balls from under the counter, and bundled them into my arms. I quickly poured them into my open bag.

"Thank you, come again," the man said.

Without another word, I left the shop. There were two more shops on the other side of the fountain. One of them had to sell food. I walked across the square and into the next shop. The interior was a mirror image of the previous shop. Even the man at the counter looked the same. Once again, I approached the counter.

"Excuse me, what do you sell here?" I asked.

"Nothing," the man said. My heart immediately sank. "We can heal your Pokémon for free if they need it."

"Oh, Mr Squishy, are you alright?" I asked upwards.

A small blue hand giving a thumbs up stuck out over the rim of my hat. I gathered this was his way of confirming that he was fine without talking considering the previous reaction. With this, I turned down the man's offer and left. Just one shop remained so it had to sell food.

"Do you sell food?" I asked in the third identical shop, hardly containing myself.

"I'm afraid not. We are a specialist shop that sells the finest Potions," the man explained.

"But… but…" I whimpered, "How am I meant to battle to need all the things you sell in this town if I'm hungry?"

"Would you like to buy a Potion?" he asked.

"No thanks, I think I've got some," I said and left the shop.

"It appears we will have to travel further afield to satisfy your needs," Mr Squishy said as we stood in the square once again.

I rummaged inside my bag and pulled out a small bottle I had spotted before. It was indeed a Potion, a small medicine to cure Pokémon of injuries from battling. I scanned the label and saw nothing for or against human consumption so unscrewed the lid. I sniffed the contents. It was an interesting aroma and hard to identify. There was a hint of something familiar but likely an obscure berry I'd had in a meal once.

"I would strongly advise against doing what I suspect you are about to do," Mr Squishy said.

I ignored him. I was hungry and this seemed to be the closest I was going to get in this town. As long as it went down and stayed there then it would probably get me through to the next town where I would hopefully find something more substantial. There was also the added incentive of it being medicinal and if I was lucky then it would do something about the Fletchling induced bruises that covered my body.

I closed my eyes and downed the bottle. The liquid was much thicker than I expected which gave the illusion of consuming something closer to food than a drink. I swallowed the last of it and took a moment to take it in. The taste was fairly sweet but it left a horrific after taste. I could make out Mr Squishy peering over the top of my hat to look at me. My insides rumbled and I rushed towards the fountain clutching my stomach. Mr Squishy was thrown back by the force and almost took my hat off but it somehow stayed on.

Kneeling over the pool of the fountain, I got rid of what I'd just swallowed amongst other things. Mr Squishy jumped off my hat and stood beside me, relieving a great amount of pressure from my head. I continued to stare down into the now soiled water to make sure it was all gone. When I was convinced my system had been cleared out I sat against the side of the fountain and looked at Mr Squishy.

"I need water," I said, "use Bubble."

I opened my mouth wide and pointed inside. Mr Squishy stared at me for a moment and then squirted a number of bubbles at me. A number went in my mouth and popped, giving me a very minor refreshment. The rest hit my face, soaking me.

"That wasn't quite how I intended it, but it'll do," I said and wiped my face in a futile attempt to dry it.

"I suggest you take head of my warnings in future," Mr Squishy said with a disapproving shake of the head.

"Who are you, my mother?" I asked.

"From what I have seen, you should be thankful that I am not," he responded.

I slowly got to my feet and readjusted my clothes. My body ached from lack of food, the ordeal with the Potion and the bruises I had leant on. Mr Squishy launched himself into the air, jumping over half of my height, and latched onto my hat again.

"Make haste, human. There is much adventuring to be done," Mr Squishy ordered and pointed in the direction of the bridge.

I reluctantly trudged in the direction I was pointed. I took my first step onto the bridge and a large man stood next to the bridge suddenly jumped and turned to face me. I reeled back in surprise as the man stared at me with a massive grin. My mind immediately pinpointed the parts of a man's body that my mother had told me to target should I ever be threatened by a rapist.

"Hey trainer, wild Pokémon jump out of the long grass so be prepared," the man said cheerfully and I froze in the middle of stretching out my leg to kick him in the groin.

It took a moment for my mind to register what he had said and I lost my balance in that time. I stumbled back and caught myself on the wall.

"You really need to be more careful," Mr Squishy said, "You almost lost me and, more importantly, your hat over the edge."

I once again chose to ignore him. The man had turned away again having lost interest in me. Now that I knew I was safe, I scurried across the bridge to begin what I was informed the real life of a Pokémon trainer. I had heard about the long grass before but had not seen it in person. Areas of the road ahead had patches of grass that inexplicably reached knee height. The route ahead seemed to I involve wading through these patches so I obliged.

The grass tickled my exposed legs as I walked through the first patch. After a couple of steps, the grass parted and a Pidgey burst out of it.

"Ok, so it's exactly like everyone said…" I said and looked at the bird flapping about in front of me, "Mr Squishy, this is where you come in. Use Bubble."

"I do have a wider range of moves if you must know," Mr Squishy said as he jumped from my head and disappeared into the grass.

"That may be so, but as I understand it nothing else is really of much use at this stage," I said.

Mr Squishy proceeded to attack the Pidgey with Bubble. The Pidgey responded by what appeared to be just ramming into Mr Squishy and knocking him back. I decided this would be a good a time as any to try catching a Pokémon so rummaged in my bag. I pulled out one of the Poké Balls that I had bought and threw it at the Pidgey. The ball hit it and opened up, sucking it inside. The ball dropped into the grass and disappeared from sight. I had to kneel down and brush aside large blades of grass to find the ball again. I had heard that the ball usually rocked a few times but it was still by the time I found it.

"I believe you have enslaved the poor creature," Mr Squishy said as I picked up the ball.

"I have. I will call it Feathers and it will do my bidding," I said and pocketed the ball.

"Your bidding? Do you realise that makes you sound like some form of villainous leader?" Mr Squishy asked.

"And what if I am?" I asked back, "Are you questioning my life choices?"

"Well, are you?" he asked.

"I don't think so," I mused, "possibly an anti-hero. I'm not really sure."

"Hey Y!"

"Oh dear," Mr Squishy and I said together.

I took a few steps forward to leave the long grass and found myself facing Calem and Shauna.

"Hey, do you know how to catch Pokémon? Calem does! His parents are amazing Pokémon trainers!" Shauna said in her usual screeching voice.

"Well, this isn't about my parents. I've learnt quite a lot and I want to share that knowledge," Calem said modestly.

"I've actually already…" I began and reached for Feathers' Poké Ball.

"Nonsense, watch and learn," Calem said and turned to walk into the grass behind him.

I rolled my eyes as a Bunnelby jumped out of the grass to attack Calem. Calem responded by sending out a Fletchling he must have caught on his way here. I noted the Fletchling. Not the same one I was familiar with, but another of its species. I despised it. Calem declared his first attack, Peck. I snapped.

"Kill it!" I screamed.

"No, you have to just weaken it," Calem explained.

"Mr Squishy, kill that damn bird!" I shouted.

"What is the matter with you?" Mr Squishy asked.

"Shut up and kill it," I shouted as my eye twitched.

"I can render it unconscious but I shall not be participating in murder," Mr Squishy said.

Clearly Mr Squishy wasn't going to be of use to me in this situation. I would deal with him later. I rushed forward and swung my leg. I drove my foot through Calem's Fletchling as it returned from mutilating the wild Bunnelby. The Fletchling was flung through the air and crashed down to the floor with a thud.

"What do you think you're doing?" Calem shouted and grabbed me by my collar.

"Why do you have one of those things?" I shouted back, "they're monsters!"

"Who are you to say what I can and can't catch?" Calem asked.

"A victim!" I shouted.

In the heat of the moment, I didn't think. I tore the buttons of my top open to reveal the purple bruise on my chest. We stood in awkward silence with Shauna and Mr Squishy watching on as Calem stared at my chest. I soon realised that I had exposed more of my chest than I had intended to. I looked from my breasts to Calem's bright red face. He released my collar and I quickly covered my chest.

I ran.

I could hear Mr Squishy bounding along after me as I fled to hide beneath the bridge. I curled up on the ledge at the edge of the river and buttoned up my top. Mr Squishy sat beside me and watched as tears formed in my eyes.

"I can't believe I did that," I cried out in despair.

"Well, we now have one argument towards you being evil," Mr Squishy mused.

"I've known him an hour and he's already seen my breasts," I said, "I don't even like him. I've never been so embarrassed."

"If it comes as any consolation, Kalos is a big place. It should be fairly simple to never see him again," Mr Squishy said.

That was actually quite reassuring. I could just avoid Calem forever. I didn't particularly want to be hanging around with him and his gang anyway. Avoiding them had no drawbacks. I smiled at Mr Squishy, but I didn't move from my hiding place.

"What in Arceus' name possessed you to attack that thing anyway?" he asked.

"If you knew my life, you'd know," I said.

"So, you also have the required dark backstory? I would wager that Y is not your true identity, you have things to hide. You really do have the workings of a villain," Mr Squishy said.

"Why are you more concerned that I'm displaying the traits of fictional villains than what's actually going on?" I asked.

"I believe addressing your role in the world is far more important than some human seeing your exposed flesh. Humans see my flesh all the time," Mr Squishy explained.

It was odd. The comparison between me and him was completely ridiculous and didn't work, but it still managed to comfort me. There was something about this talking Pokémon that I liked, even if he did have his own agenda and an odd affixation with my hat.

"You know what, Mr Squishy? I think we're going to get along just fine."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I stayed under the bridge a little longer to give Calem and Shauna time to get further ahead. Before setting off again, I decided to make a change to my appearance. I took two of the Poké Balls from my bag and slipped them down my top. With some careful positioning, they created the illusion of the fully developed chest that better reflected my age. I inspected my reflection in the water. It would do.

Mr Squishy climbed back onto my hat and we headed back to the route leading to the forest. To my dismay, Calem and Shauna were still where I had left them. They turned to look at me as I approached. Calem's eyes were unfortunately drawn immediately to my chest.

"I could have sworn they were smaller…" Calem said and looked perplexed.

"Pervert," I remarked distastefully, "What are you still doing here?"

"I didn't finish showing you how to catch Pokémon," Calem said.

"I don't need your help, I've already caught something," I argued.

"Anyway," he continued, ignoring me, "once you've weakened the Pokémon, you go into your bag and select a Poké Ball which you then throw like this."

Calem pulled a ball from his bag and tossed it at the wild Bunnelby. The ball bounced off the Pokémon's head and sucked it inside. The ball dropped to the ground and began to wobble. After a couple of seconds, the ball came to rest and clicked.

"Wow, the Pokémon went inside the ball!" Shauna said in awe as Calem went and picked up the Poké Ball.

"Did you already forget?" Calem asked.

I said nothing. I was amazed she could be so surprised by something so basic. Shauna was certainly not cut out for being a trainer and I wondered why she had been chosen. I wasn't going to question Professor Sycamore though. He had somehow known about me so obviously had some trick up his sleeve for Shauna. Perhaps she had some latent power that would see her excel at some aspect of training. Or perhaps she was just an annoying brat and Professor Sycamore was a creep.

"Oops! Yeah, Li'l Fennekin's inside my ball!" Shauna said.

"Here Y, as way of a peace offering between us," Calem said and held out a box.

I took the box and opened the lid. Inside were ten Poké Balls.

"Thank you," I said and put the box in my bag.

With nothing else left to do, Calem turned to leave and soon disappeared into the forest ahead. I quickly followed behind at a distance just for the purposes of getting away from Shauna. I could see a looming darkness approaching as the number of trees increased drastically.

"When two trainers' eyes meet, a battle must begin!"

"What?"

I turned to the side to see a kid in a blue hoodie run towards me holding out a Poké Ball. He threw the ball down and a Pokémon emerged, a Zigzagoon.

"Mr Squishy, deal with this kid," I said.

"That is no way to command a Pokémon, young lady," Mr Squishy said.

"Zigzagoon, use Tackle!" the kid ordered.

The Zigzagoon launched itself directly at me. I then remembered that my Pokémon was on my head. I shielded my face with an arm as the small brown Pokémon shot towards my head. It collided with my hat and the force bundled me over.

"Go Mr Squishy, use Bubble damn you," I shouted.

"Better," he said before attacking the Zigzagoon.

I sat up and straightened my hat while the two Pokémon fought it out on the floor next to me. It only took two hits to knock the boy's Pokémon out. He recalled his Pokémon and then offered a hand to help me up. I gladly took up his offer only to pull him over with me due to a difference in strength.

"Sorry about that," I said as I forced myself up slowly.

"It's fine, you're a great trainer," he said.

"Really?" I asked sceptically.

"Yeah, here are your winnings," he replied and handed me a fistful of notes.

I took the money without question and continued on my way into the forest.

"For your information, I can now use Quick Attack," Mr Squishy said.

"That's actually useful, why didn't you tell me you could use that sooner?" I asked him as he climbed up my shoulder onto my hat again.

"I have only just learnt it," he replied.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

I took a moment to adjust my eyes to the darkness of the forest and looked around. The trees were thick enough to block out most sunlight but a path seemed visible ahead. Then the dreaded happened.

"Hey Y, wait up!"

I groaned as Shauna ran to catch up with me.

"What do you want now?" I asked.

"We should go through the forest together, I think something special will happen if we do!" she said enthusiastically.

"Special, like what?" I asked.

"I don't know!" she chirped, "I can heal your Pokémon whenever you want!"

"You can?" I asked out of surprise.

"Yeah, let me show you!" she said.

I paused and then sent out Feathers the Pidgey. It had taken a battering from Mr Squishy in the battle that I had caught it. Shauna knelt down and placed a hand on the bird Pokémon. A moment later and Feathers was completely refreshed. It fluttered its wings about cheerfully. As promised, Shauna had healed it. This must have been the hidden talent Professor Sycamore had chosen her for. It was incredible and certainly useful.

"Alright, you can come," I said without thinking. Shauna may be able to heal Pokémon but that didn't make her any less annoying.

"Yay!" Shauna cheered. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around me. I winced in pain as she squeezed me tightly, placing heavy pressure on my bruised body.

"Shauna. Let go. Now. Really. Stop," I breathed.

She reluctantly released me and I breathed a sigh of relief. I quickly glanced down and saw that she had fortunately avoided knocking my Poké Balls out of place. My bruises were still sore as we set off walking deeper into the forest but I didn't want to show signs of weakness in front of Shauna. She had already seen enough that day. Though a nagging curiosity wondered if Shauna's magical healing worked on people too.

We turned a corner and found the rest of my neighbours spread across the path. Calem waved at me and said something that I didn't hear. He then turned and headed further along the path. What drew my attention though was something large and orange sticking out of the long grass. On closer inspection, it turned out to be Trevor.

"Hi Trevor," I said faking cheeriness and once again showing off my chest to him.

He turned around to look at me and once again his face turned bright read. He fell backwards into the grass and lay there looking at me with an expression of sheer terror.

"H-hi," he stuttered.

"What are you doing hiding in the grass?" I asked.

"W-watching Calem," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"I, uh, h-he's a good trainer," Trevor said hesitantly. I laughed and left him to his weird behaviour.

I continued on along the path and Shauna followed me intently. Next, we came across Tierno who was battling against a young boy. Like Trevor, the boy seemed tiny in comparison to his opponent. Their battle seemed to be like the ones I'd experienced so far, a simple exchange of the main attacking move of each Pokémon so we resumed our walk through the forest.

"Hold on Y," Shauna said surprisingly quietly.

I stopped and waited to see what would happen. Shauna rushed past me into the nearby patch of long grass. She rummaged around on the floor for a moment and then stood up holding a small yellow bottle. She carried it over and handed it to me.

"It's a Paralyse Heal!" she said, returning to her usual tone, "You can have it, I find stuff like this all the time because I really like puzzles!"

"I'm not entirely sure how that logic works, but thanks," I said as I looked at the spray bottle.

"I do hope you are not planning on trying to eat that," Mr Squishy said.

"But it looks like honey," I said like a whining child who had just been told they couldn't have something.

"I can assure you that not even Pokémon are intended to ingest it," Mr Squishy said.

I took his advice and put it into my bag. We resumed our journey once again and I paused regularly to battle wild Pokémon and various trainers that attacked me. I alternated between Mr Squishy and Feathers in battle so that they would both get stronger. Every so often, one of the others would catch up with us but then hang around where they were again for no apparent reason. I soldiered on in search of the end of the forest. I wanted to get away from Shauna and the others as soon as I could.

"Pika-pi!"

Something yellow burst from the long grass to challenge me to a battle. I obliged and sent out Feathers yet again. I was faced with a Pikachu with a heart shaped tail. I knew Electric types had the advantage against Flying types but other advantages like that had counted for nothing so far in the forest. I was surprised Calem hadn't turned up to give me a lecture on why this match up was a bad idea.

"It's so cute! Catch it, Y! Catch it!" Shauna screamed and Mr Squishy reached down and covered my ears with his hands.

"Feathers, use Gust," I ordered.

My Pidgey beat its wings and the wind picked up. Pikachu was battered by the wind and specks of dirt that were picked up by it. One hit seemed to be enough for everything else so I pulled a Poké Ball from my bag and threw it. Shauna squealed each time the ball rocked and let out an even louder one that almost destroyed my eardrums when the ball clicked.

"You caught a Pikachu! That's great!" Shauna said as she jumped up and down clapping her hands.

Miss Sparks the Pikachu was added to my party and joined the training rotation with Mr Squishy and Feathers. Shauna took great joy in healing it after battles. She eventually gave into her temptation and squeezed its cheeks. Miss Sparks reacted just as I'd hoped and electrocuted Shauna. Unfortunately, Calem was nearby when it happened.

"Y, don't be so irresponsible," Calem shouted, "Keep your Pokémon under control."

I glared at him as he joined us. We stood at what appeared to be the end of the forest. Shauna was trying to sort out her hair after being shocked. I returned Miss Sparks to her Poké Ball and we were shortly joined by Trevor and Tierno. The gang was back together again no matter how much I didn't want it to be.

"You got here first Y? You seem to have a lot of potential," Calem said.

"What kind of potential?" I asked.

"I think you could be a great trainer," he said.

"Because I didn't waste my time messing about in a forest?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Shauna said, "You did great!"

"I think we should all take the next few steps together, emerge into the new world beyond the forest as friends," Tierno suggested.

I dreaded what came next. Calem and the others thought this was a great idea and would hear nothing against it. Calem and Shauna grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out of the forest where we came to rest again just a few feet away from where we had been before.

"T-that's Santalune City," Trevor said and pointed down the hill. I looked to see a small city not too far away.

"Great, what are you guys all going to do?" Calem asked.

"I-I'm going to look for more Pokémon. I-it's what Professor Sycamore asked us to do," Trevor said.

"I'm going to look for more moves for my Pokémon dancing team," Tierno declared. What on Earth was a Pokémon dancing team? I had never heard of any such idea. I was still yet to see Tierno dance apart from a few inexplicable twirls. Not that I particularly wanted to.

"I'm going to find lots of cute new friends!" Shauna said. She was still yet to catch anything. In fact, I hadn't seen her battle since she ambushed me on the way out of Aquacorde Town. I doubted she was going to get very far.

"Well, I'll be challenging the Santalune City Gym as that's what trainers do to test their strength," Calem said modestly. He was obviously aiming to collect the 8 badges and challenge the Pokémon League, not test his strength. "What about you Y?"

It took everything I had to resist saying I was going to get as far away from them as possible.

"I don't know," I lied.

"I believe we will be in search of food," Mr Squishy said.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"Food?" Tierno asked. His eyebrows were raised with his interest. "Can I come?"

"Uh," I hesitated as I looked for an excuse, "I also want to go clothes shopping, so unless you want to be waiting forever, I'd say no."

"Oh dear lord, they warned me about getting a female trainer. I thought they were just making jokes," Mr Squishy sounded terrified.

"Well, before we all go our separate ways, I want to give you all something," Calem said and searched inside his bag, "I wrote this guide for you all. Take one and use it if you're ever stuck on your adventure."

Calem handed us each a large wad of papers stapled together. I looked at the first page. It said "Adventure Rules". I flicked through the pages only giving a brief glance to anything. Once I caught sight of a diagram on how to tie shoe laces I came to the conclusion that if I ever needed to make a fire, I had the right thing. I didn't care whether or not there was a guide on making a fire, but it would burn well.

After handing out his tips, Calem went on his way. I made my escape from the others and set off for Santalune City. I was almost immediately stopped by a child who didn't even come up to my waist in height.

"Hey lady, mummy told me to battle everyone I meet," he said.

"Why didn't you battle that guy then?" I asked and pointed to Calem.

"Oh, I was tying my shoes," he said.

I reluctantly agreed to the battle. It would open up a gap between Calem and myself and give some amount of experience. I dispatched with the boy's Azuril easily and continued on my way. It was then only a short downhill walk to Santalune City where I would soon find some food at last. Hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Please come again," the nurse said as I took my three Poké Balls back. I had deposited most of the Pokémon I had caught leaving just Mr Squishy, Feathers and Miss Sparks in my party. I immediately let Mr Squishy out for his companionship.

I looked around the Pokémon Centre. There was a changing room on one side of the main desk and another counter on the other. There were two men stood behind the other counter and they seemed to be selling things. "Finally, food" I thought and rushed over to them.

"Excuse me, do you sell food?" I asked excitedly.

"No, this is a Poké Mart, we sell trainer supplies such as Poké Balls and Potions," one of the men replied.

I sank to my knees and buried my head on the counter. I then looked up to the ceiling and let out a cry of despair. As I lowered my head down again I saw the men and a thought struck me.

"You must know where I can get food in this town though, surely?" I begged.

"I can't think of anywhere," one of the men said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps the Gym Leader, Viola, knows somewhere," the other said.

"If you don't know, where do you get your food from?" I asked.

"We have staff meals provided," one of the men explained.

"Fine," I conceded, "I'll go ask this Viola person."

Mr Squishy jumped onto my shoulder and scrambled into his usual position on top of my hat as I dragged myself to my feet. It was approaching a day since I had last eaten and I had since travelled a considerable distance on foot and thrown up. I really needed to eat. Traipsing around a city on a wild goose chase for food wasn't really something I was up for, but I desperately needed food.

"Where do you suppose we find this Viola?" Mr Squishy asked as I stepped outside.

"She's a Gym Leader so I would guess the…" I began as I looked around, "Forget that."

"What?" Mr Squishy asked.

Outside the shop next to the Pokémon Centre was a sign with a logo I the shape of a t-short. Clothes. Food could wait. I immediately walked inside.

"Hold on, I thought it was just an excuse to be free of the larger human," Mr Squishy said.

"It was," I said, "I didn't know there was actually a clothes shop here."

"Welcome! Feel free to browse and try things on," a shop assistant greeted me, "We've got a special offer on hats today."

My eyes lit up at the sight of a row of hats lined up against the back wall. I tossed the hat I was currently wearing aside and Mr Squishy with it. I picked up the first hat that caught my eye, a royal blue felt hat with a white ribbon. I placed it on my head and turned to look in a mirror. I pulled a number of unusual faces as I tried to decide if it looked right.

"What do you think, Mr Squishy?" I asked and turned to look at him. He was sat crouched on the floor wearing my red hat.

"In all honesty, I think it is an abomination for not being this hat, my dear," he said.

"My head, my hat, my rules," I said and stuck my tongue out at him. I then turned back to look in the mirror. "It doesn't really go with what I'm wearing."

"Excuse me miss, we do have an outfit in stock if you'd be interested?" the shop assistant interrupted.

I turned back to him. He showed me to a green t-shirt and white pair of tight jeans. I shook my head and went to try a different hat. I tried on another few hats and came across the same problem as before. None of them suited me. I eventually reached the last hat in stock, a white and pink cap with a Poké Ball logo on it. It looked better than any of the others I had tried. An odd moment of madness took over and I twisted the cap around and mimicked throwing a Poké Ball towards where Mr Squishy stood looking at me distastefully.

"Mr Squishy, I choose you!" I shouted, copying a character I'd seen on TV.

"No," he said bluntly and folded his arms.

"I'll take it," I said and handed the shop assistant some money.

"It would be a shame for us to fall out so soon over something as trivial as headgear," Mr Squishy said as he sat on my shoulder for a change. He was wearing my old hat which proved an awkward nuisance knocking against my head.

"If you're going to insist on keeping that thing, sit on my head so that it's not in my way," I said.

"I will sit on your new hat but I do not have to like it," he said and climbed up. Whatever arrangement we had seemed to be uncomfortable for me. It would be so much easier if he had walked alongside me.

We left the clothes shop and set off in search of the Gym. As we walked through the main square of the city past the fountain, I noticed an arrangement of chairs and tables much like in Aquacorde Town. There was a woman sat at one of the tables sipping a mug of coffee. It seemed I didn't have to find the Gym. I walked up to the woman.

"Excuse me, where did you get that coffee?" I asked.

"What a wonderful hat! It really suits you," she said and I couldn't help but look smug. Mr Squishy grumbled something I couldn't make out.

"Thank you, but where did you get that drink?" I asked again.

"There are so many wonderful boutiques in Kalos. It must be a treat to travel around them all," she said.

"Sorry, that's really not helpful," I said angrily.

The woman resumed sipping at her drink and completely blanked me. I frowned at her and walked off. I assumed the café must be near where the tables were, but I could find no entrance to the building they were next to. The next building along did have a door. I opened the door and stepped inside. However, it appeared to not be a café. Instead, it looked like a family home. A man and a woman turned to look at me as I entered.

"Sorry," I said awkwardly and immediately backed out of the house.

After closing the door, I covered my face with my hands and cursed in every language I knew.

"Oh my word, watch your mouth young lady. That was the vilest display of culture I have ever encountered," Mr Squishy said.

"I just walked into someone's house," I cried out.

"Console yourself in the knowledge that it is less demeaning that exposing your flesh, by your standards anyway," Mr Squishy said.

"Thank you," I said sarcastically.

"How do you know so many languages anyway?" he asked.

"Japanese is what we spoke back in Hoenn, I learnt English at school, I had to learn French before moving here, a pen pal taught me Russian and that was the only word of Chinese I know," I explained.

"Well, I am impressed. It almost makes up for your ridiculous choice of hat," he said.

"How did you know what I was saying anyway?" I asked.

"A matter for another time, my dear," he said.

"You will have to tell me eventually, you know?" I groaned.

I decided that to avoid any further embarrassment and awkward conversations I would have to resume the original plan of finding the Gym Leader and asking her for help. It didn't take long to find the Gym. A large sign and Pokémon League logos dotted over the building showed I had found the right place. A woman in roller skating gear stood blocking the entrance so I approached her.

"Hey, rolling around on skates is just the best thing ever isn't it?" she asked.

"Uh, I wouldn't know," I said awkwardly.

"You don't have skates? Well, if you beat me in battle then I'll give you some," she said.

"I'm not really that interested in roller skating," I said.

"You won't know until you try," she said and threw a Poké Ball between us, "Come on out Zigzagoon!"

"Go Mr Squishy, use Bubble," I ordered.

"Tackle attack," the skater responded.

Mr Squishy was first to attack and was able to do significant damage despite how weak the move was. Zigzagoon then rammed into him and knocked him over. Both of us called for a repeat of our first attacks. This time, Zigzagoon was knocked out before it could attack.

"Wow, you're good. Maybe even as good as a Gym Leader," the skater said.

"I really don't care for that sort of thing," I said.

"A deal's a deal, here you go," she said and handed me a pair of roller skates. They were just wheels attached to some sort of clip. "Here, let me read the instructions: These roller skates attach to any kind of shoe. All you need to do is move the circle pad to get rolling."

"What the Hell is a circle pad?" I asked.

"I have no idea," she shrugged.

"But you-"

"Go on, give them a go," she said cheerily.

The skater then kicked off and skated in a circle around me before coming to rest nearby. I looked at the skates in my hand and thought for a moment. It would be rude not to at least try it out. She seemed fairly insistent on it and would likely not let it drop until I did. So, I sat on the step of the Gym and clipped the wheels to the soles of my shoes.

I stood up carefully and wobbled about as I tried to keep my balance. I slowly moved my feet and the wheels began to move. I began to slowly glide forward. My confidence rose drastically and I tried to pick up speed. Soon, I was circling as the skater had done before. However, a problem arose fairly quickly.

"I can't stop!" I cried out as I started rolling down a slope unintentionally.

"What?" Mr Squishy shouted and gripped hold of my head even tighter than normal.

"Mr Squishy, do something!" I begged.

We both screamed as a wall got closer at great speed.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on my back with the skater and Mr Squishy looking over me as I came to. At first, my vision was blurred, but then things came into focus. We were still outside the Gym. I sat up and rubbed my head.

"Praise Arceus you are alright," Mr Squishy said.

"A talking Pokémon," I said, faking surprise.

"Do you not remember me?" he asked.

"Who are you?" I asked back.

"Oh dear, you appear to have lost your memory," Mr Squishy said.

"The look on your face," I laughed and pointed at him. Mr Squishy looked disapprovingly at me and then sprayed me with bubbles.

I chose not to continue using the skates and abandoned the skater girl. Mr Squishy returned to my hat and we went into the Gym. We were met with a small room. A man stood in front of a hole in the floor with a pole sticking out of it. The far wall had two amplified photos of insects covering most of it.

"Hey future champ, is this your first Gym challenge?" the man asked.

"No, I'm not here to challenge, I just need to speak to Viola," I tried to explain.

"Sure thing, just jump down that pole and remember the trainers here use Bug type Pokémon," the man said.

I cautiously approached the hole. I couldn't see anything down it. It was too dark. I looked back to the man who was watching me. He was grinning slightly and in my brief glance back I could have sworn he was drooling a little. He wanted to see my body slide down the pole. Pervert.

I took a deep breath and jumped forward. I wrapped my arms and legs around the pole. The pole was a cold metal and it squealed as I slid down it. However, the pole did not last very long. I rather suddenly found myself falling through the darkness for a few seconds. I cried out as my skirt blew about in the wind created by my fall.

I hit a soft surface that began to go further down with me before springing me back up slightly. I bounced on the surface a little before it came to rest. Looking around, I was on what appeared to be a giant spider's web. The web formed a series of pathways, but limited movement to a single route by some strings being too thin to get a footing. Even the route that was meant to be walked on seemed too thin for me. I wasn't the best at balance and didn't want to know how far the drop was as I could see nothing else.

I stretched my arms out wide for balance and began to walk forwards. I took each step slowly. A boy stood on a wooden platform not far ahead. He was watching me and presumably waiting for me to fall to my death as that was the sort of cruel imagination kids have these days. Glaring at the boy made me lose concentration and my foot slipped. I fell forwards and intentionally pushed my other leg over the other side of the walkway so that I could land on the web and not fall to my death.

"Help!" I called out as I lay clinging to the silky floor.

"Who would design a building like this?" Mr Squishy asked.

"Anyone who wants to challenge these Gyms must be either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid," I said.

"In my experience, the two are not that different," Mr Squishy said.

The boy on the wooden platform was laughing at me the entire time I struggled on the web. He must have been pretty confident of his own ability to get across it. It also seemed unfair that he was safely up on an actual surface. I edged my way along the web while still lying on it. I didn't dare try standing again. Eventually, I reached the platform the boy was stood on and dragged myself onto it. He looked down on me and continued to laugh as I got to my feet and resisted the urge to hit him.

"Now that you're here, it's time to battle," he said.

"Oh no," I shouted and waved my hands to emphasise my point, "not here. Far too dangerous. I'm not even here to battle."

"If you're not here to battle then you shouldn't be here," he said.

Suddenly, the boy ran forwards with his hands raised and pushed me backwards. I stumbled about and he pushed me a little further. This time, there was nowhere for my foot to go and I fell over the edge of the platform into the dark oblivion below.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

This was it. I was about to die. As soon as I hit the bottom, whenever that would be, I would be killed by the impact. Some child had mercilessly murdered me. Maybe it was for the best. With the success I was having, I would probably have died from starvation so a quicker death would be nicer. I expected my life to flash before my eyes…

I hit something. I was still alive. I could see the web above me, I hadn't fallen more than 10 feet. I sat up and looked around. It was dark but I could still make out that the floor was made up entirely of crash mats. I suppose it made sense really to have protection for anyone who fell opposed to it actually being a death trap. I had panicked and acted completely stupidly in hindsight. Mr Squishy sat up and adjusted my other hat that he was still wearing.

"It appears your fears were unfounded," he said.

I didn't say anything. I just flopped to the ground and lay face down on the crash mat. I didn't want to move. Not moving was for the best. Everything I had tried to do that day had ended badly. For the third time in just a few hours I had done something so embarrassing that the shame would haunt me for the foreseeable future. To top it all off, I was still hungry.

"Y, are you alright?" Mr Squishy asked. I could hear him walk over to stand next to me.

"What do you think?" I cried out.

"I think you are the main antagonist due to a dark and mysterious past, things to hide and a poor self-image," he said.

I simply groaned.

"How do you think we get out of here?" Mr Squishy asked.

"I don't care," I said and slammed my face against the crash mat.

"Lying around moping is not going to help getting food," he said.

He was right. So, reluctantly, I dragged myself to my feet and put my hat back on. Walking across crash mats was difficult as they were soft for catching people but we managed it as we searched for a way out of the pit. The boy pushing me had knocked my Poké Balls and I had to readjust them before anyone saw. Mr Squishy spotted a ladder on a wall and we climbed up to a wooden platform.

Before I could see what was on the platform, there was a bright flash.

"Fantastic!" a female voice said excitedly. I looked to see a girl holding a large camera stood under a tent.

"Are you Viola?" I asked.

"Yes, I am Viola the Santalune City Gym Leader and photographer extraordinaire," she said, "That determined expression… That glint in your eye… It's fantastic! You're here to challenge me for your first Gym badge, that's fantastic!"

"No, I'm not," I protested.

"You've been such a good subject so far, see," she said and turned her camera to show me the screen.

I looked in closely as she scrolled back through a number of photos she had taken of me. There was one of me lying on the crash mat with Mr Squishy standing over me, an action shot as the boy pushed me off the platform, one of me clinging to the web for dear life…

"…And my personal favourite," Viola said as she pushed the button to move to the next picture.

What I saw were my own pants. It was a photo from below as Mr Squishy and I fell from the pole screaming. My skirt was blowing about and exposed my underwear to the camera.

"That's a panty shot," I said bluntly.

"It's a fantastic depiction of the unity between a trainer and Pokémon when faced with danger," Viola said.

"No, it's a panty shot," I repeated.

"It's a panty shot," she confirmed with a grin.

"Delete it," I demanded.

"No, why should I? It's a fantastic picture," she said.

"No it isn't. Delete it," I said.

"If I do then I'll just tell everyone about the trick you're pulling," she said with an evil smirk.

"Trick?" I asked.

I watched in confusion as Viola undid a button of her shirt and reached inside. She pulled out a Poké Ball to show it to me. I looked down at my chest and then back to hers as she put the ball back.

"You're an actual pervert," I said.

"And now for the real reason we're here, to battle," Viola said as she held out a Poké Ball that she wasn't using to disguise her flat chest.

"No, I'm not here to battle or be perved on," I cried out, "I just want to know where I can get some food in this city."

"You'll have to earn what you want like everyone else," she said and sent out a Surskit.

"I've walked all the way from Vaniville Town looking for food, I've been humiliated getting through this Gym, I think it's time I got a little something back," I said desperately.

"Karma and earning things are very different, now battle me or get out," she said.

"Fine, if it means finding food then so be it," I said and grabbed a Poké Ball, "Go, Miss Sparks!"

"Surskit, use Quick Attack!" Viola ordered.

"Miss Sparks, Thunder Shock!" I retaliated.

Surskit darted at Pikachu and smacked head first into it. Miss Sparks recovered easily and electricity burst from its cheeks, shocking Surskit.

"Bubble!"

"Thunder Shock!"

Miss Sparks attacked again. Electricity arced through the air and burst through all of the bubbles before striking Surskit. Surskit stumbled around. It was weak, time to finish it off.

"Miss Sparks, Quick Attack," I ordered and my Pikachu dashed forward.

However, Viola had already acted. She yanked the lid off a Potion bottle and poured it over her Pokémon. Surskit was restored and quickly moved. Miss Sparks crashed into Surskit but Viola's Pokémon took very little damage from the attack.

"Since when could you do that?" I asked, irritated.

"You still have a lot to learn, I guess you'll be going hungry," Viola said mockingly.

"Dammit, Thunder Shock!" I shouted.

"Water Sport," Viola said calmly.

"Finish it with Quick Attack," I ordered before either of the previous attacks had even happened. I was desperate and angry.

Thunder Shock hit first. Surskit's attack never came though. It stood perfectly still with sparks crackling around its body. I had heard of this, Paralysis. This presented the perfect opportunity for Miss Sparks to deal the decisive blow. Surskit collapsed and Viola recalled her Pokémon.

"Vivillon, you're up next," Viola said and threw a second Poké Ball.

"Miss Sparks, come back. Go, Feathers!" I said and switched my Pokémon.

"Use Harden," Viola said.

"Gust," I responded.

These same two moves were repeated over and over. My Pidgey battered Vivillon with wind, dust and whatever else got caught up in it. However, Vivillon kept making itself stiffer and taking the battering with ease. Viola's defensive tactic soon backfired though. The constant use of Harden meant that Vivillon was so stiff that it couldn't beat its wings to stay in the air. It crashed to the ground like a stone. My attacks were still doing very little.

"For your information, she has boosted her physical defence, perhaps you might want to exploit her special defence?" Mr Squishy suggested.

"Physical and special defences? What are you on about?" I asked.

"Just let me finish this," he said.

"Fine, Feathers, come back. Mr Squishy, you're up," I said and called Pidgey back.

Mr Squishy jumped off my head and into battle. He attacked without even being ordered. A single hit from Bubble was enough to defeat Viola's Vivillon.

"Fantastic!" Viola said excitedly.

"What?" I asked.

"You won," she cheered.

"Oh, ok, can I know where the food is now?" I asked.

"Here you go," Viola said as she pulled something from her pocket and handed it to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

I looked at what was in my hand. She had given me a green disc and a small brown object that looked vaguely like some kind of beetle.

"That is the Bug Badge, your proof of victory, and a Technical Machine, or TM, that can teach Infestation to one of your Pokémon," she explained.

"They don't look very edible," I said.

"They're not."

"Then where can I get some food? I earned the right to know, damn you," I said angrily. Viola smiled.

"I have no idea," she said, "I don't know anywhere that sells it in Santalune City. If you keep heading north to Lumiose City then you should be able to find something."

"I went through all that and you don't even know?" I shouted.

"It was fun though, wasn't it?" she said innocently.

"No!" I shouted back, "How do I even get out of here now? I got in by falling."

"There's a staircase behind my tent," Viola said and pointed behind her.

"Well, I'm done with you and your messed up Gym," I said and stormed off towards where the stairs were.

I found the stairs and followed them up to a door that turned out to be behind one of the enlarged photos in the main entrance. I returned to the Pokémon Centre to heal my Pokémon despite not taking much damage before I set out for Lumiose City in my continued search for food. However, something else happened in the Centre. There was a woman waiting at the counter for me.

"You wouldn't happen to be Y, would you?" she asked.

"I would," I said.

"Well, I've got a mystery gift with you name on it," she said and held out a package.

"Who's it from?" I asked and took the package. There was a label on it that simply said "To Y".

"I don't know, that's part of the mystery of it," the woman said.

I tore off the brown paper to reveal a plain white box. I opened the box to find a Poké Ball. I threw the Poké Ball to the ground to discover what was inside. A small orange bird emerged. A Torchic.

"Torchic, are you now mine?" I asked curiously. It chirped in response.

"I believe that was a yes," Mr Squishy said.

"Unexpected but cool, I wonder who sent it..." I thought out loud.

"Given what has happened so far today, I would put money on it being an admirer of your physique. That is, if Pokémon were allowed to gamble, of course," Mr Squishy said as I returned the Torchic to its ball.

With an unexpected new addition to my party, I was ready to begin an assault on Lumiose City. Nothing was going to stop me getting there and finally getting some food. The sun was setting as I left the Pokémon Centre and headed north for Route 4. A woman who was leaning against a wall near the exit of Santalune City stopped me.

"What do I see here? Are you by any chance one of the children chosen by Augustine Sycamore to have a Pokémon?" she asked.

"I'm not a child, but yes," I said. I wasn't keen on having to talk to this woman but she seemed to know who I was and that made me interested.

"And you have a bug Badge already," she said in amazement as she spotted the badge pinned to my bag, "I think I've found a big scoop."

Of course. I should have known she was a journalist. I had enough experience with journalists from the scandal involving my mother back in Hoenn. They were a horrible bunch of people who delved too deep into people's privacy. I just hoped this one didn't go far enough to uncover the false identity.

"How rude of me, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Alexa, I'm a journalist, and the Gym Leader you beat was my younger sister," she said.

"If you want a scoop, how about your sister's a creepy pervert?" I suggested.

"That's old news, I need something new," she said and looked at me.

"Well, I'm not interested in being news, not after what she put me through," I spat back.

"Viola can get a bit frisky, here's something to make up for it," Alexa said and handed me an odd object, "it's an EXP Share. Keep that with you and all of your Pokémon will get stronger even though they're not in the battle."

"Uh, ok, that does seem quite valuable," I said.

"Don't worry about that, you keep it," she said.

"Actually, if you do insist on giving me something, no chance you've got any food?" I asked.

"Sorry, no, you'll have to do with that instead," Alexa laughed, "I'll see you around."

Alexa walked off. I hoped I wouldn't see her again. I didn't want a journalist poking around. I had enough problems as it was. Like food. And the realisation that with it getting dark I would also need to find a place to sleep. Lumiose City presumably had hotels.

I set off north. Lumiose City was visible in the distance. Massive buildings and its world famous tower loomed over everything surrounding it. It was a clear path to the city's gate. The road had decorative gardens either side, and a fountain stood proud in the centre. I looked at the gardens and noticed the hedges. They were tall and there were gaps between them to create a path. Despite my incredible hunger, my curiosity took over and I ventured between the hedges to explore.

This was a mistake. The path inside the hedges twisted and turned in no logical route. It was a bizarre maze of massive green walls. I soon lost way my and had no way of retracing my steps. It all looked the same. I started to panic and run in search of an exit. This only led me down another dead end. When I turned to head back and take a different option, I was faced with an old man in a green apron holding a hedge trimmer.

"What do you think of my creation?" he asked.

"Why would you do this?" I asked.

"For moments such as just this occasion," he said with a menacing grin.

The old man fired up his hedge trimmer and approached me. I tried to back away only to find I was trapped in a dead end.

A few minutes later, I emerged from the maze. Mr Squishy had used Bubble on the hedge trimmer which had completely ruined it and electrocuted the gardener. Miss Sparks was then able to provide sufficient shocks to torture him into revealing the way out of the maze. I was free to resume my trip to Lumiose City and knew better than to give in to any more distractions along the way.


End file.
